A TALENTED golfer who putts in the effort to support Pembrokeshire sports clubs is the latest to go under the Sport Pembrokeshire feature spotlight.

Alan Jones is Sports Development Link Officer with Sport Pembrokeshire. He acts as the main point of contact for community clubs.

Alan supports the clubs to access funding to develop grass roots opportunities and ensure young people have the chance to enjoy and benefit from a range of sports.

A keen sportsman, Alan played football, rugby, cricket and badminton as a teenager before getting hooked on golf.

Finding a set of clubs and hitting a few balls on a local cricket pitch has led to a life-long love of golf and Alan with an enviable list of silverware and titles.

A three-time Dyfed golf champion, Alan has been club Champion at South Pembs Golf Club an astonishing 27 times and represented Dyfed for 33 years.

And like a good golf swing, it was all about timing as Alan took up the Sport Pembrokeshire role.

After university in 1996 the sports development arm of the Council was expanding and Alan joined the team the following year.

Now he is passionate about ensuring young people get to experience everything that sport has to offer.

Alan said: “For me, it’s not about winning it’s about developing good routines, getting ready, being prepared, being on time, creating good habits.

“It’s also about perseverance and getting better at something, dealing with nerves, having composure, being resilient.”

Alan emphasises that sport is about the experiences off the pitch as well as on it.

“Travelling to new places and meeting new people – building confidence – there is so much to gain from being involved in sport.

“For children to take all these skills into the classroom and then into adult life is what it’s all about for me.

“At a sports club, children will meet people of all ages, from all walks of life – who knows, one day someone they know from their club might be interviewing them for a job.”

After a year of disruption to sport and plenty of working from home, Alan says his hopes for the future are simple:

“To establish better links between schools and their local sports clubs.”

He added: “That is a great opportunity for schools to show children what is on offer in their community and for clubs to get more people involved.”

For more information see: https://www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/sport-pembrokeshire

You can also search for and follow Sport Pembrokeshire on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram for regular updates on the team’s work.